Tonight I'll be drinking a bavarian-styled Doppel Weizen from Lagunitas in Petaluma, California. This is their 22oz seasonal brew available in September which was inspired by Rolec, the builders of Lagunitas' most recent set of brewing equipment. Rolec is a company based in Deutschland, YAH! that builds all sorts of crazy brewing equipment for breweries around the world. I'm guessing they've been pretty busy over the last 5-10 years, considering the boom in craft brewing we've seen in the US during that time. Anyway, Rolec sent a traditional yeast strain straight from Bavaria, and Lagunitas "overfed it" to create this beastly Doppel Weizen. This brew registers at 9% alcohol, and cost under $5...now that's a price I can support!
The beer is a hazy, dirty orange color leaving a small, white layer of lace on top with good retention. The aroma is loaded with cloves, spicey apples, wheat malts, and alcohol fumes. Also plenty of bananas and yeast-funk that reminds me of fresh pears. The flavor starts off with over-ripe apples and lemons, combined with a hot, spicey bitterness. There is a firm amount of pale wheat malts, grainy, but keeps things balanced. Then comes a gritty, almost sugary tartness that rides on a wave of banana-booze. The finish carries those bananas through, very sweet. It only took a few sips for this thing to start warming me up - the 9%abv is definitely a player.
Overall Rating: This is a big brew and a slow sipper, to be sure. I enjoyed the whole bottle - plenty of nicely balanced characteristics between the sweet fruits, spices, and alcohol warmth. It feels a little heavy in the stomach, but that doesn't take away from the experience....just sip it nice and slow! B+
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